Chapter Text
Aether stood on the rotting wooden planks of the dock with his mind preoccupied. He brought his fingers to his lips and took a drag from his half-finished cigarette, blankly staring at the island far in the distance, shrouded in fog and mystery.
“Detective.” His assistant huffed.
He raised an eyebrow, “What’s up?” Paimon rolled her eyes and scoffed before pointing at the dart in his hands. “That! Smoking before the job?- are you serious?”
The blond pursed his lips, letting his 20 dollar cancer stick fall to the floor, stomping it out and leaving it looking like a chewed piece of gum. He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly, trying to look as sweet as possible. But sadly, that didn’t work (not this time at least).
“Well it’s too late for that now isn’t it?” She shook her head as she shoved a clipboard into his now-empty hands, “Bright enough to solve cold cases but apparently too dumb to smoke after an investigation. This is about the recent victim, there’s updated details.”
“Chill out would ya?” He muttered, earning a side-eye from the grump. Aether’s eyes glided over the already known information.
The victim (Mary Gustardeau- 28 year old female from Fontaine) was reported (6:02 AM) floating in water approximately 50 metres away from Xiangzi Island, discovered by a tourist boat docking. The victim was last seen by family members the night before at around 8-9 pm, with intentions to take a tourist boat to Xiangzi Island. The sailor of the victim’s skiff is unregistered and is unidentified.
He turned the page, met with autopsy photos and descriptions that were excluded from the first report.
His curiosity was piqued as his eyes fixated on the black and white image of her injuries. There were humanoid bite marks surrounding the area between her upper-trapezius and jaw, skin stained with blood and numerous clots. It was horrifically graphic, the flesh completely shredded, skin tearing- it was hard to tell what you were even looking at.
His eyes fled to another photo. It was one that revealed her severely bruised and swollen wrists, said to be fractured from the grip of her assailant(s). Then, he glanced at the last image which had her feet in it. They were pricked and splintered with millions of tiny little sticks and whatnot.
Aether winced as he took it all in, this woman did not go out kindly. He felt a pang of sorrow, determined to bring justice to this poor lady. He handed the clipboard back to Paimon and nodded, not knowing what much else to say.
She flashed a smile and gestured to the skiff.
“I think the boat’s ready, let’s go.”
Aether sat down beside the 3 bodyguards, heads low and staring down at the floor. The motor of the boat whirred loudly as they zipped through the water, the full moon’s reflection glittering in the obsidian water. As they inched closer and closer to the island the air grew colder, like the minty breath of a beast in its slumber. Dangerous, but most importantly, dormant.
The motor slowed down as the skiff floated down to the shore. Aether sighed as he stood up, guards following behind as Paimon rushed to his side. They climbed out of the boat and hopped on to the sand, whipping out their flashlights.
“It’s real chilly.” She commented, zipping up her jacket. Aether stuffed his hands into his trench coat and hummed in agreement, goosebumps trailing up his arms. For some reason, this temperature was much cooler than when they were on mainland. Or maybe it was just getting colder in general and he was mistaken.
He glanced down at the white sand- something catching his eye in particular. He grabbed his flashlight from his pocket and pointed it at whatever he was looking at. It was a path of footprints leading into the water. “Paimon grab your camera, found something.”
Her ears perked up, “what is it?” she eagerly jogged up next to him.
“Footprints.”
She smirked as she brought the camera to her eye, light flashing as she snapped a photo. “Nice find detective!”
“You brought measuring tape right?” The blond asked, crouching over the sand. “Mhm,” She dug into her bag and handed over the small wheel of tape. Aether squinted as he rolled the tape out and compared it to the imprint.
“21 centimetres.. this might be a woman’s foot. Take another photo.”
Click!
“We can send the photo to forensics and they’ll check if it matches or not.” She noted as she scribbled down in her notepad before pausing, “These are the ones leaving the island, where are the ones where she enters?”
Aether shrugged as he stood up and shook off his shoes. “Probably from another entrance, we’ll find it later.”
His eyes followed the footprints that progressed from the tree line, he stepped into the overgrown woods with curiosity, the forest thick enough to block out the moon’s shine. And for some reason the air felt heavier, the darkness and eerie atmosphere feeding into it. Like the stench of a crime scene, fear, dread- all of it. Not something out of the ordinary though, he was always sensitive to things like this while on site, it’s just that.. the weight is heavier this time, the fetor of tragedy potent.
Aether ducked under a few branches and carefully advanced further into the growth.
“Detective? Where are you?” Paimon called out from the beach. He was about to respond but froze in his tracks upon seeing a thick, dark red stripe staining the trunk of a tree.
“Detective!” She whisper-yelled as she sprinted to him, about to scold him for running off without the bodyguards. But she quickly shut up when she saw what he was looking at. “Oh my god.”
“Take a photo,” He smiled to himself, feeling satisfied about his find. She fumbled with her camera before taking a photo of the blood stains.
Click!
“You’re awesome, detective!”
“I know, I know.”
She gave him a dirty look.
“Geez, I’m kidding. Go sample it, I’m gonna check if it continues.”
“Sure, grab one of the guards while you’re at it.”
“OK, whatever you say.”
A guard followed behind him as he began investigating the bloody streaks that began to form a choppy path that led deeper into the bush. “Paimon, you almost done?”
“Uh-huh, comin’!” She skipped towards him and gestured he lead the way. All five made their way through the jagged branches and darkness, pursuing the never ending blood trail and tracking down as much evidence they could find. After about 10 minutes of winding through trees they were about to settle down and take a break. However, it started getting colder.
The wind howled like a battle cry, the island suddenly going quiet. Aether didn’t even realise the constant chirping of crickets, but in its absence; he notices it all too well. Everyone stopped what they were doing, looking around in trepidation. They were surrounded by a dense fog, making the air murky and obscuring their vision. The silence was loud, the only thing audible being the frequent whistles of the wind and hushed susurrations that came and went. All were glued to the ground with bated breath as if time stopped, too afraid of making too much noise.
Then the echoes of a flute broke the silence. Aether’s ears perked up, an amalgamation of emotions suddenly drilling into his chest and climbing up his throat into the inner corners of his brain in the form of an excruciating headache. His knees buckled underneath him, eyelids twitching as he yanked at the roots of his hair. Strained groans scratched the back of his tongue while his vision was bombarded by flashes and familiar faces he’d never seen before. His skull felt like it was being trampled by horses, like his brain was leaking out of his sockets. His breath grew shallow, ribs sinking into his body. Voices rung in his ears, crawling inside like centipedes navigating through his head.
What do I do? I need help.
He thought, but even that was drowned out by the deafening shouting.
亲爱的，我一直在等待你的到来。
(My love, I’ve been waiting for you.)
Aether could feel his body hit the ground, the stabbing sensation in his skull now feeling like a dull ache. His eyes were dried out and when he blinked it stung, he looked around and almost forgot where he was. He was lightheaded and disoriented, if he moved too quickly he would just float into space and pop in the atmosphere.
His heart sank as he began to process what he was looking at. Everyone was keeled over on the ground, eyes closed and unmoving. Without a second thought he yanked Paimon over to his side, scrutinising her body for injuries before checking her pulse and breath. She was fine.
He let out a shaky exhale of relief and quickly took one of the radios that were strapped on to the guards, head still spinning.
Beep
“I need backup,” He whispered. “Bodyguards and assistant are unconscious, this is Viator.” He took a deep breath, vision blurry with his tears. Aether waited for a response but was only met with static.
“Requesting immediate backup, bodyguards and assistant unconscious. This is Viator.”
…
He struggled to take another deep breath, chewing his lip anxiously as his grip on the walkie-talkie tightened.
“This is Viator. I request back-“
“Coms are going to be disconnected temporarily.” A woman’s voice spoke softly, he furrowed his brows and stared at the device in his hands, processing her words. “Apologies for the inconvenience Mr. Viator, but this is an important part of the process. We will clarify the situation afterwards.”
“What?” He muttered through gritted teeth. “No- you can’t just do that. We aren’t alone. Someone else is here with us and we are in danger. Is this some kind of joke? Get me back on the line right now.”
The woman didn’t respond. The blond clenched his jaw, hurdling the radio at the tree in front of him before grabbing Paimon. If nobody was gonna help them then he’ll help them himself. His knees were weak and he could barely hold his own weight in this state, but with enough adrenaline pumping through his veins he was going to be able to carry her, he had to. If he couldn’t then they were all doomed. Something is definitely wrong with this place and they need to book it before things get ugly. He pulled her up onto his back, staggering forward a little.
He’ll make it, shore is only ten minutes away.